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The worst-case scenario: A rupture of the Enbridge pipeline somewhere along the 31 kilometres between emergency shut-off valves in Durham Region.

The result: More than 14,000 barrels of oil contained in that section of Line 9B spewing into one of the many creeks under which it passes. Some 2.3 million litres of oil, travelling downstream and flowing into Lake Ontario, the drinking water supply for millions.

Fear of disasters like that scenario, outlined by the Town of Ajax, have prompted municipalities to demand that federal regulators impose strict safety conditions as part of the anticipated approval of Enbridge’s plans to flow more product — and more-dangerous product — through Line 9B.

The National Energy Board will hold public hearings on the proposal in Montreal and Toronto in coming weeks.

“The best we can hope for, based on the process as I understand it, is that the decision would include conditions that address some of our concerns,” said Guy Paparella, Hamilton’s director of growth planning.

“Conditions of the decision — that’s really we’re looking for, because then (Enbridge is) obligated to be responsible to implement those initiatives.”

Enbridge is seeking approval to increase the capacity of the existing pipeline from 240,000 barrels per day to 300,000. It currently averages about 160,000 barrels per day along the 639-kilometre stretch between North Westover, near Hamilton, and Montreal.

In Hamilton’s letter of comment submitted to the board, city fire officials complained the company wasn’t sharing adequate information with them to allow planning an emergency response.

Enbridge should “be required to co-operate fully with local first responders in providing relevant details with respect to number of staff, equipment and timelines that will be deployed in the even of issues relating to the leakage or rupture of Line 9,” the city said.

It also listed concerns about the impact of a spill on drinking water and wetlands, calling on the NEB to impose conditions such as training and working with municipal emergency responders, installing more shut-off valves, and developing plans to deal with spills that could endanger drinking water.

Paparella said Enbridge has been responsive to the city’s concerns.

“We’ve got their attention and we hope to get NEB’s attention,” he said. “We still think that if the NEB sees fit to include conditions that oblige them to do so, we’d have a higher comfort level.”

Toronto and Mississauga have official intervenor status in the NEB proceedings, allowing them to present final arguments. And more than half a dozen municipalities along the pipeline weighed in with comments.

One of those was Ajax, where Line 9B runs through environmentally protected areas and under four major creeks.

Ajax Mayor Steve Parish said a leak could contaminate creeks, travel downstream to ravage the town’s picturesque waterfront and beaches, and into Lake Ontario near a water treatment facility. Like other municipalities, Ajax wants shut-off valves around more waterways, and “integrity digs” in perceived high-risk areas to ensure the pipe’s safety.

The Kalamazoo spill, after a rupture in a pipeline similar in age and design to Line 9B, alerted municipalities across North America of the potential for disaster. And fierce debate around Enbridge’s proposed Keystone and Northern Gateway pipelines, and the explosion in July 2013 of a train carrying oil in Lac-Megantic that claimed 47 lives, have drawn heightened scrutiny to oil transport.

“We know that things can go wrong and we have to deal with it with a very much safety-first approach,” said Parish. “We want to be sure that this line has as many safeguards as it can possibly have, so that the chances of that happening are reduced to the greatest extent they can be, and if there is such a breach, that the emergency response … is rapid and complete.”

Even at the pipeline’s current rate of flow, the town isn’t satisfied with Enbridge’s emergency response plans, the mayor said.

Enbridge crews have the lone authority to shut off the pipeline at a local valve, but their emergency response time within Durham Region is estimated at 1.5 to 4 hours. Ajax wants the NEB to require the company to create another emergency team, located in Durham, and train and permit municipal responders to operate the valves.

“We think their emergency response plan has to be considerably beefed up; there has to be the appropriate personnel, planning and infrastructure to deal with those worst-case scenarios,” said Parish. “We’re not satisfied that that’s in place now.”

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